


The Maiar

by Celandine



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Other - Freeform, Research Article
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3720089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celandine/pseuds/Celandine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short overview of the Maiar, plus names and descriptions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. About the Maiar

The Ainur (singular form: Ainu) were the beings or spirits that were created directly from the thought of Eru Ilúvatar, long before the creation of Arda. They did not have physical form, it seems, although they are described as dwelling in Eru's halls and singing. It was the singing of the Ainur that in a sense created Arda; though Eru brought it into physical existence, it was the Music that was embodied thereby.

After the creation of Arda, some of the Ainur chose to enter it and dwell therein until the end of its existence. These Ainur were divided into two groups: the Valar and the Maiar (singular forms: Vala and Maia). The Valar were the greater spirits, and the Maiar were the lesser, in terms of ability. The Maiar were by far the most numerous, and mostly served particular Valar in whatever ways were needed. They could take on physical forms at will, as the Valar could.

Less is known about specific Maiar: Tolkien only named a few of them. Some people like to speculate that every powerful creature of unidentified provenance (e.g. Tom Bombadil or Huan, or on the evil side, Ungoliant and the Balrogs) was perhaps a Maia, but this theory is not proven.

The Maiar did not really have sexes, since they did not have innate physical forms, but they are generally referred to as either male or female, and some of them did take spouses, usually from among the other Maiar (though Melian wed an Elf).

Like the Valar, the Maiar were sometimes called gods by mortal Men, but this was erroneous.


	2. About the Maiar

**Aiwendil:** he was one of Yavanna's people, and she urged that he be chosen as one of the Istari in the Third Age. In Middle-earth he was known as Radagast the Brown, and spent most of his time enamored of the birds and beasts there.

**Alatar:** he was one of Oromë's folk, chosen to be one of the Istari sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age. His name in Middle-earth is never given, but he was one of the two Blue Wizards.

**Arien:** she was chosen to inhabit and pilot the Sun in its course across the sky, after the destruction of the Two Trees by Melkor/Morgoth, because of her devotion to the Tree of Gold, Laurelin. She is described as having forsaken her humanoid body and appearing as a naked flame.

**Curumo:** he was one of the people of Aulë, and was chosen to serve as one of the Istari in the Third Age. In Middle-earth he was known as Curunír, or Saruman the White. He dwelt in the tower of Orthanc in Isengard.

**Eönwë:** he is the banner-bearer and herald of Manwë, and served as his messenger. None in Arda surpassed his might in arms. After the Great Battle at the end of the First Age he served as instructor to the Dúnedain.

**Ilmarë:** she is the handmaiden of Varda, and one of the greatest of the Maiar, though little is said of her.

**Melian:** of all the Maiar, the most is said in The Silmarillion about Melian, who is kin to Yavanna but served both Vána and Estë; in Lórien she tended the flowering trees in Irmo's gardens, and nightingales sang for her. In Middle-earth she took on the form of an Elf to marry Elwë Singollo (Thingol) and then lived with him as the Queen of Doriath through most of the First Age. They had one child, Lúthien, who married the mortal Man Beren, and chose to die with him. Melian's chief characteristics are her beautiful singing voice, inherited by her daughter, and her wisdom.

**Olórin:** he is the wisest of the Maiar, and dwelt in Lórien, but often visited Nienna and from her learned patience and pity. He often walked bodiless among the Elves, whom he loved, and sometimes took form as one of them. Those who listened to him put away imaginations of darkness and woke from despair. In the Third Age he was one of those who took on the form of a Man and went to Middle-earth as one of the Istari; he was then known by many names: Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn among the Dwarves, Incánus among Men in the South, Gandalf in the North.

**Ossë:** he is the greatest of Ulmo's people, master of those seas that touch upon Middle-earth. He prefers coasts and isles to the deep waters. He delights especially in storms and his laugh can be heard in the roaring waves. His spouse is Uinen, who at times restrains him. Those who dwell near the Sea often love Ossë, but they do not trust him.

**Pallando:** he was chosen by Alatar as a friend to accompany him to Middle-earth as one of the Istari of the Third Age; the second of the two Blue Wizards, no other name for him is known. He seems to have been one of Oromë's people.

**Sauron:** he was at first one of the people of Aulë, and was very skilled in those crafts, but was drawn into Melkor's service. He was also known as Gorthaur the Cruel, and in the Second Age called himself Annatar, Lord of Gifts. He held the fortress of Angband for Melkor. At the end of the First Age he submitted, but when he learned he would have to be judged by the Valar, he fled and hid. In the Second Age he established himself in Mordor and began building Barad-dûr. He taught Celebrimbor the secrets of making the Rings of Power, but himself forged the One Ring in Orodruin to master the rest. His loss of the Ring signaled the end of the Second Age. In the Third Age his attempt to regain power was ultimately foiled when the Ring was at last destroyed.

**Tilion:** after the destruction of the Trees, he was the Maia who dwelt in the last blossom of Telperion, which became the Moon. Because of his love for Arien, he attempted to draw the Moon near her, resulting in both the darker appearance of the Moon (scorched by the Sun's flame) and the more erratic appearance of the Moon's course. Earlier he had been a hunter in the company of Oromë, using a silver bow, but often slept in Lórien by Estë's pools in the light of Telperion.

**Uinen:** she is the Lady of the Seas, and her hair spreads through all the waters under the sky. She loves all creatures in the salt water, sea or stream. The Númenóreans held her in reverence equal to the Valar. Mariners cry to her to restrain Ossë her spouse.

* * *

**Sources:**

Humphrey Carpenter, ed., _The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien_ (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000).

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, _The Silmarillion_ , ed. Christopher Tolkien (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977), passim but esp. pp. 30-32.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, _Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth_ , ed. Christopher Tolkien (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980), pp. 388-402.


End file.
